Transit District board approves nearly $4 million grant application

Stewart DoreenMidland Reporter-Telegram

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, April 9, 2009

- Stimulus money would help pay for capital projects associated with public transportation in Midland and Odessa.

The Midland-Odessa Urban Transit District Board on Wednesday approved a grant application to the Federal Transit Administration that could mean nearly $4 million in federal stimulus money for public transportation in Midland-Odessa.

Christmas coming early is how some board members described the potential ramifications, which MOUTD General Manager Edward Esparza said will allow capital project purchases that otherwise might not be possible because MOUTD money is typically used for operations only.

He also said the money allocated through the American Recovery Reinvestment Act, the federal stimulus package, will require no local match and have no strings attached, which was a worry expressed during the board's meeting.

During the same meeting the board also gave its approval of purchasing those program projects using federal stimulus money.

The approval of Midland and Odessa city councils are still needed to approve the grant application and any projects using federal stimulus funds.

Should the councils approve the items, state and federal approval of the projects and subsequent funding is expected to be a formality.

The board also approved using $2,789,031 federal funds from fiscal year 2008 for real estate acquisition, architectural and engineering services and to initiate construction of an administrative and maintenance facility.

Esparza said another $557,807 in Transportation Development Credits has been requested for the capital project.

Currently, the Midland-Odessa Urban Transit District is located on Highway 80. Esparza said the new location will be located near Midland International Airport.

During the general manager's report, Ezparza said there was an 18.42 percent drop in riders in Midland and Odessa during the month of February compared to the same month in 2008. He also said the numbers of riders during this fiscal year is down more than 13 percent.

The transit district has experienced double-digit percentage drops in the number of riders in Midland for five straight months. Lower gas prices is among the reasons citied for the lower rider totals.

Projects the Midland-Odessa Urban Transit District Board approved using potential grant money from the American Recovery Reinvestment Act of 2009

- Purchase of nine 23-foot Spirit Mobility low-floor paratransit buses that have an expected useful life of seven years or 150,000 miles. Cost: $1,160,000

- Purchase of approximately three 30-foot EZ Rider Max II low-floor buses that have an expected useful life of 12 years or 500,000 miles. Cost: $960,000.